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Skilled power forwards are abundant

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Continuing with our end-of-season national positioners that we began (with centers) last week, the focus in this contribution is on the nation's top 33 power forwards, regardless of class in school. You may recall that early last September we offered a post-summer/preseason list of the top 30 seniors at this position. Now, we're filtering in the premier underclass power forwards, while also assessing everyone's performance during the 2000-2001 season. The result is a completely new set of rankings.

Note that we chosen to list outstanding unsigned 6-8 Alabama frontcourtman Ousmane Cisse, unsigned 6-10 Louisville athlete Brandon Bender, promising 6-10 Michigan junior Paul Davis and 6-9 fifth-year Virginia prep Sharrod Ford as centers rather than power forwards, and this is reflected in our rankings. Also, big-time 6-8 PF/SF Harvey Thomas, a Georgetown recruit from Fredericksburg, Va., who transferred last fall from Rockville (Md.) Montrose Christian to Memphis (Tenn.) Hamilton, was declared ineligible to play in Tennessee and thus is excluded from our list. Had he played, he would certainly be ranked among the top dozen power forwards.

At the apex of the list of elite power forwards is a quartet of McDonald's All-Americans ( Kwame Brown, David Lee, Wayne Simien and Rick Rickert ), the nation's No. 1 junior at that position ( Shavlik Randolph ), and a senior ( Julian Sensley ) who should be a McDonald's All-American but isn't. Brown, a tremendous run/jump athlete, is also the best dribbler and passer of the lot, while Randolph (whose grandfather, Ronnie Shavlik, was an All-American at N.C. State) is the best shooter and also extremely versatile. Lee, who'll join Brown at Florida, is a southpaw who flies up and down the court and has ultra-quick moves to the basket. The best power moves belong to Kansas signee Simien, who's also an accurate mid-range jump shooter. Sensley, a native of Hawaii who'll attend California, combines strength around the hoop with a dangerous shot to 3-point range (though he's prone to hang too much on the perimeter), while slender Rickert (headed to Minnesota) has a playing style reminiscent of former Duke All-American Christian Laettner but would benefit from more physical strength.

Our list includes 22 seniors, nine juniors and a pair of sophomores. The second-best junior at this position is 6-8, 255-pound Indianan Sean May, whose father, Scott, was an All-American for the Hoosiers and also an Olympic star and NBA player. The sophomore power forward we like the best at this juncture is 6-8, 265-pound Lorenzo Thompson from Chicago. Both May and Thompson showed at major events last summer that they can compete favorably with top-caliber seniors.

Next week we'll identify the nation's top 33 small forwards, regardless of class. Stay tuned.

NATIONAL TOP 33 POWER FORWARDS (regardless of class)
Player	Year	Height	School
1. Kwame Brown	Senior	6-11	Brunswick (Ga.) Glynn Academy
A more athletic Danny Manning who likely will play no more than two seasons for Florida before entering the NBA draft.
2. Shavlik Randolph	Junior	6-10	Raleigh (N.C.) Needham Broughton
Averaged 27 ppg this season and is expected to select either Duke, North Carolina or N.C. State as his collegiate destination.
3. David Lee	Senior	6-9	St. Louis Chaminade
Enough perimeter skills that he might ultimately make the transition to small forward for Florida, but right now his best position is power forward.
4. Wayne Simien	Senior	6-8 1/2	Leavenworth (Kan.) High
A 240-pound Kansas signee who erupted onto the national scene with an outstanding series of performances last summer.
5. Julian Sensley	Fifth-year senior	6-8	Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy
The Hawaii native and California recruit is a blue-chip talent who this season didn't always play up to his ability.
6. Rick Rickert	Senior	6-11	Duluth (Minn.) East
Future Golden Gopher has a wide array of scoring tools but can be outmuscled (215 pounds) around the hoop.
7. Ed Nelson	Senior	6-8	Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas
Looks bulky at 245 pounds, but the Georgia Tech signee is cerebral, highly skilled and deceptively mobile.
8. Elton Brown	Senior	6-8 1/2	Newport News (Va.) Warwickh
A powerful, 250-pound insider with a soft shooting touch, the Virginia recruit was MVP of the 2000 AAU Junior Boys' (17-under) National Championship.
9. Dennis Latimore	Senior	6-8	Halstead (Kan.) High
Plays tough around the basket and already possesses the ballhandling and shooting skills required for a possible future transition to small forward for Arizona.
10. Jason Maxiell	Senior	6-7 1/2	Carrollton (Texas) Newman Smith
A quick and strong leaper whom Cincinnati hopes will develop into another Kenyon Martin.
11. Sean May	Junior	6-8	Bloomington (Ind.) North
A burly, 255-pound insider who finishes well and understands the game like you would expect Scott's son to do.
12. Lorenzo Thompson	Sophomore	6-8	Chicago Crane Tech
Currently plays second fiddle to Arizona-bound senior point guard Will Bynum, but the 265-pounder has "future big-time star" written all over him.
13. Jamal Levy	Senior	6-9	Homestead (Fla.) Berkshire School
Agile, athletic Wake Forest signee also stars for the Panama Junior National Team.
14. Taurance Johnson	Fifth-year senior	6-9	Glassboro (N.J.) Faith Christian
A mobile Williamsport, Pa., native with loads of basketball potential who signed with Florida International because off-the-court problems reduced his fall recruitment by roundball powers.
15. Vytautas Danelius	Senior	6-8	Indianapolis Park-Tudor
Starred last summer for the Lithuania Junior National Team and might become Wake Forest's next Darius Songaila.
16. Mario Boggan	Junior	6-7 1/2	Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy
A 300-pound space-eater from Durham, N.C., who has sure hands and a knack for finishing successfully in heavy traffic around the basket.
17. Jason Fraser	Junior	6-8	Amityville (N.Y.) High
A fine rebounder/rejector who is in the process of improving his scoring tools.
18. Chris Bosh	Junior	6-9	Dallas Lincoln
A lanky lefthander who jumps high and knocks in mid-range jump shots.
19. Charlie Villanueva	Sophomore	6-8	Elmhurst (N.Y.) Newtown
A versatile scorer who was held back a year in school and thus should be a junior this year.
20. Marco Killingsworth	Senior	6-8	Birmingham (Ala.) Parkway Christian
A quick-driving lefty whose national stock rose significantly after stellar play last spring and summer. Signed with Auburn.
21. Josh Powell	Senior	6-9	Riverdale (Ga.) High
A promising athlete who must add strength and effective post moves in order to reach his potential for N.C. State.
22. Demarshay Johnson	Senior	6-9	Oakland Tech
Motors up and down the court and jumps high, but he must upgrade his academic credentials. Southern California, Louisville, San Francisco, Arizona State, Alabama, San Diego State, Rhode Island and others are closely monitoring his classroom progress.
23. Curtis Withers	Junior	6-8	Charlotte (N.C.) West Charlotte
A talented performer who has been criticized for inconsistent effort but played very well (and hard) when we saw him this season.
24. Kevin Bookout	Junior	6-8 1/2	Stroud (Okla.) High
A 260-pounder who attracted big-time attention last summer with excellent play for the loaded Athletes First team consisting almost entirely of Oklahoma underclassmen.
25. Elgrace Wilborn	Senior	6-8	Springfield (Ohio) South
An athletic, left-handed Tennessee recruit who plays very tall and has beefed up his offensive tools.
26. Lawrence Roberts	Senior	6-8	Houston Lamar
A better-than-advertised scorer who might be able to make the future transition to small forward for Baylor.
27. Kelly Whitney	Senior	6-7 1/2	Chicago Marshall
The Michigan signee had a very fine season and is extremely active near the basket.
28. Yusuf Baker	Junior	6-8 1/2	Orlando (Fla.) Evans
Plays big around the hoop and earned All-Tournament honors last summer at the AAU Junior Boys' (17-under) National Championship.
29. Patrick Simpson	Senior	6-8	Denver George Washington
The Southern Methodist recruit is an angular insider who's quick off his feet and blocks lots of shots.
30. Duane Erwin	Senior	6-9	Huntsville (Ala.) Robert E. Lee
The Memphis signee is a 220-pound athlete who has increased his aggressiveness and no longer can be accused of being too soft.
31. Jason Clark	Senior	6-8	Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy
The Virginia recruit is a run/jump athlete who plays most effectively at the high post.
32. Danny Horace	Senior	6-8	Cincinnati Western Hills
A 230-pounder with a solid jump shot to 18 feet and the potential to become a major steal for Miami (Ohio).
33. Chris Williams	Junior	6-7	Cedar Hill (Texas) High
Impressed us a great deal last summer with his tremendous leaping ability and strong moves to the hoop.

Regional Notes

For each geographic region, one underclass sleeper (not mentioned above) at power forward is listed below. In addition, there have been a couple of recent verbal commitments that merit mention.

EAST

Sleeper: 6-7 junior Jamaal Walls of Los Angeles Crenshaw caught our attention last summer with his strength and aggressiveness around the basket.

Brick Oettinger is talent evaluator for the Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook and recruiting columnist for the ACC Area Sports Journal. For more information on either publication, call 1-800-447-7667.

 

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